Healthcare at Home: The Rowan Report

Allscripts may remove itself from the deal that sent its home care and hospice software division to Netsmart two years ago. (more…)

by Lenny Verkhoglaz, MBA

As the CEO of a home care franchise, I see firsthand how new technologies are helping us provide a stronger caregiving experience for both the person in need of care and the loved ones surrounding them. Media is shaping how we train caregivers and how those in need of care experience life. Embracing modern technologies and using media can draw both caregiver and loved one closer, creating a better experience for both parties.

Here are some examples of how media is impacting modern caregiving. (more…)

“Slow down to grow Fast” is the theme of a home care sales seminar aimed at agency owners and set for October 3-5 in Las Vegas. Organizers Melanie Stover and Cheryl Petelkis, owners of “Homecare Sales,” describe “Growth Summit (without the pain) for Owners and Executives” this way:

Right now, everyone is concerned about doing more with less. Less revenue – Lack of talent – Inability to retain the team.

There is fear that patients will not get the care they deserve and your bottom line is going to be affected. Cheryl Peltekis, RN and Melanie Stover, OT, MBA, MS/ISM, owners of Home Care Sales, have created solutions and systems that can help you so you can do what you love: Serve more patients and clients (and do so without increasing your G & A costs). You want to gain the insiders’ advantage.

“We would like to invite you to Las Vegas for 3 days to focus on you and your business and make the quantum leap in your success. After this event:

•You will walk out with a one-page Agency Success Plan that will get you crystal clear on your growth strategy that you will be able to share with your staff. Everyone on the same page!
•You will also be given an implementation guide from each session so you can have your staff start using the concepts right away.

•The most valuable thing you will leave the event with will be new peers who understand you and the day to day industry challenges you are facing. You are not alone.

We all need someone to lean on. The event is for Home Health, Hospice, and Private Duty. The curriculum design includes collaboration across the post-acute continuum of care with emphasis on creating synergy across a spectrum of home-based care providers.

Additionally, the Las Vegas-based event will have ample time to connect directly with key vendors, combining work and fun. In a recent conversation, Cheryl Peltekis, RN and Owner/Partner at Home Care Sales and said this about the event: “Busy owners rarely have time for a vacation and have no choice but to make a conference their getaway. We acknowledge that and want to make this event unique. It is built to be both a game-changing growth opportunity and a chance for busy executives to actually have some fun.”

Registration and detailed information

Latest Healthcare at Home News:
The VNA RAP Miracle: From 30 Days to 24 Hours (9/5/2018)
If you recognize your agency in this description of one Midwestern VNA, you are not alone. Their staffing, productivity, and efficiency challenges were typical of most home health agencies. Read here about the process improvements that completely solved every challenge.

CMS Takes Action to Lower Drug Prices (8/29/2018)
Agency is providing flexibility through private sector tools to negotiate lower prescription drug prices on behalf of beneficiaries.

Lowering Drug Prices is More Complicated Than Verma Says (8/29/2018)
CMS Administrator Seema Verma’s self-congratulatory announcement only scratches the surface of the problem. We researched in some detail a crisis that will impact most home health and home care patients.

10 Benefits of Listing Your Hospice Online (8/22/2018)
As Google replaces the Yellow Pages, you must learn how to maximize your online visibility. Guest author Roger McManus explains why, and how to do it for a tiny fraction of your marketing budget.

CMS News: Q2 HQRP Update Available (8/22/2018)
— Hospice HQRP news
— No L, No O in new Medicare cards
— You could get paid to be a diabetes prevention instructor

Sales Intensive Scheduled in Las Vegas (8/22/2018)
Education for owners and executives set for October 3-5.

Vendor Watch (8/22/2018)
— In its second alliance announcement of the summer, Maxwell Consulting forms a cooperative agreement with Gateway Coding and Consulting.
— PlayMaker Health Acquires viaDirect Solutions, Refines Brand
— Mediware acquires Rock Pond Solutions

Allscripts May Sell Stake in Netsmart (8/15/2018)
August 2 earnings conference call with investors revealed buyers are being interviewed.

Four Ways Media is Shaping the Future of Caregiving (8/15/2018)
Franchise agency owner Lenny Verkhoglaz shares his experience with caring for Alzheimer’s patients and their families using modern technology tools.

CMS News: New MA Plan Rules May Affect All Providers (8/15/2018)
CMS replaces 2012 rule, giving Medicare Advantage Plans more ways to restrict patient access to Part B medications. New rule may impact providers with MA contracts.

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As Google replaces the Yellow Pages, you must learn how to maximize your online visibility. Guest author Roger McManus explains why, and how to do it for a tiny fraction of your marketing budget.

Synopsis: Although CMS announced this week that the premium Medicare beneficiaries pay for Part D medication coverage will decrease by about a dollar a month next year, an advocacy group continues to point out that the actual cost of prescription medications continues to rise. This article contains  a full-page letter by Joe Baker (President of the Human Rights Center) of July 20, 2018, in which he presented details of an educational briefing that  discussed the need to improve the affordability of prescription drugs for people with Medicare, citing data from the 2016 Medicare Rights Helpline Trends Report. That Report showed that too many older adults and people with disabilities continue to have problems affording coverage and their prescription drugs. (more…)

CMS Finalizes 2019 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rates

On August 1, CMS issued a final rule (CMS-1692-F) that updates fiscal year (FY) 2019 Medicare payment rates and the wage index for hospices serving Medicare beneficiaries.  In addition, this final rule updates the hospice quality reporting requirements. [The authors add: ‘This rule enables more efficient use of Hospice Compare data in the Hospice Quality Reporting Program by no longer directly displaying the 7 component measures from which a composite measure is calculated on Hospice Compare. CMS would still provide the public the ability to view these component measures in a manner that avoids confusion on Hospice Compare….” [In addition the authors note that doing so will improve transparency for patients by providing [“several updates to the quality reporting program for hospices…[and] “inclusion of data as shown from the CMS Public Use Files (PUFs) to help consumers make an informed decision in their selection of a hospice…”] The authors also include details on the “Meaningful Measures” initiative and details on routine annual rate setting changes and details on routine annual rate setting changes.  The last part of this article is devoted to the fact that Medicare Part D premiums continue to decline in 2019.  The specific amounts of these changes are detailed and the effects on Part D holders to their Medicare Part D prescription segment are noted.] (more…)

by Tim Rowan, Editor

As expected, the President has signed into law H.R. 6042, a bill that delays the requirement for state Medicaid programs to mandate that home care providers use Electronic Visit Verification technology. To be known as Public Law No: 115-222, the bill was signed on Monday, July 30. The new EVV deadline is January 1, 2020. (more…)

Three vendors of note this week:

1. Mediware: acquires Blue Strata EHR, enabling Mediware to expand its technology into the long-term care market.  Comments by senior staff at both companies focus on the value of this acquisition to the long term healthcare market.
2. Caregivers.com: an online and print resource for care teams, was awarded the prestigious Clairvoyant Networks telehealth award for its care suite of IoT and SaaS applications to provide family and professional caregivers with better information and communications.
3. PHI Initiatives announces results of a study involving three homecare providers in Minnesota to partner with PHI Initiatives and improve staff recruiting and retention in rural areas.

(more…)

 by Scott R. Herrmann